To mark World Book Day's 25th anniversary this week, the Tregolls Lodge book club had a special get together with all its members coming together in the Owners’ Lounge for a celebration of all things literary. The group was also joined by local author Jenny Hambly to give a talk about her latest Regency romance novel.
Howard Embery set up the Tregolls Lodge Book Club when he moved to his new apartment in 2017. Howard also set up a library at the Lodge and organises regular visits from local authors for the book club's weekly meeting.
"I just love getting others into reading and sharing my love for a good book," said Howard. "We all get together in the Owners' Lounge weekly to discuss the individual books we are reading. We love having local authors in to give a talk about their books – particularly debut authors."
The group started with six people and now regularly has meetings with a crowd of up to 25. The book club includes people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
“We are not your conventional book club that select a book every month and then analyse it,” says Howard. “Instead we discuss what each of us is reading and this usually prompts others to also read the books.”
Previous authors who have been to visit the book club include Jane Cable, Fiona Perrin, Raynor Winn, Robin Hanbury Tennison and Amanda James.
The book club even has a Twitter account (@TregollsC) with almost 1,500 followers and now has members in the US who join the eager readers virtually for the Thursday meeting. The group also produces its own newsletter featuring interviews with some of the visiting authors, who have also beamed in on Skype in recent times, plus interviews with other authors who have participated in the Q&As.